Is It Important to Leave an Inheritance for Your Children? — Survey of the Day

It seems an increasing number of baby boomers are following the lead of billionaire Warren Buffett, who has pledged to leave almost all of fortune to charity rather than his children.

In a new study from US Trust, only 55 percent of 47- to 66-year-olds think it’s important to leave a financial inheritance to their children. The top three reasons for not passing on wealth were “each generation should earn its own wealth,” “it’s more important to invest in my children’s/heirs’ success while they’re growing up” and “I worked hard for my wealth and will want to enjoy it myself.”

Older and younger generations are more likely to pass on their money, however. Seventy-six percent of those aged 18-46, and 73 percent of those older than 66 consider leaving money for their heirs a priority.